Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

TITLE II U.K. INDICATIVE PROGRAMMING AND ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

Article 6 U.K. Types of programmes

1. Union support under this Regulation shall be programmed through:

(a) bilateral programmes covering Union support to one partner country;

(b) multi-country programmes which address challenges common to all or a number of partner countries, based on priorities of the Eastern Partnership and the southern dimension of the ENP and taking into account the work carried out in the context of the Union for the Mediterranean, and regional and sub-regional cooperation, primarily between two or more partner countries, including also within the framework of the Northern Dimension and Black Sea Synergy. This may involve the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 1(3);

(c) cross-border cooperation programmes addressing cooperation between one or more Member States, on the one hand, and one or more partner countries and/or the Russian Federation (‘other cross-border cooperation participating countries’), on the other hand, taking place along their shared part of the external border of the Union.

2. The priorities for Union support under this Regulation are set out in Annex II.

3. Union support under this Regulation shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 and, for the programmes referred to in point (c) of Article 6(1) of this Regulation, also in accordance with the implementing rules laying down specific provisions for the implementation of cross-border cooperation as referred to in Article 12 of this Regulation.

Article 7 U.K. Programming and indicative allocation of funds for country and multi-country indicative programmes

1. Indicative financial allocations for country programmes shall be determined on the basis of the criteria set out in Article 4(1).

2. For countries for which documents referred to in Article 3(2) of this Regulation exist, a comprehensive multi-annual single support framework shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014. That framework shall:

(a) review the progress made in relation to the policy framework and the achievement of previously agreed objectives and take stock of the state of play as regards relations between the Union and the partner country, including the level of ambition for the partner country's partnership with the Union;

(b) set out the objectives and priorities for Union support, mainly selected from those included in the documents referred to in Article 3(2) of this Regulation and in the partner countries' strategies or plans, where those strategies or plans are consistent with the overall policy framework, and for which the Union's regular assessment has shown the need for support;

(c) indicate expected results; and

(d) set out the indicative level of funding, broken down by priority.

Indicative financial allocations for each single support framework shall be given in the form of a range of not more than 20 % of those allocations.

The duration of a single support framework shall in principle correspond to the duration of the relevant document referred to in Article 3(2) of this Regulation.

3. For countries for which documents referred to in Article 3(2) of this Regulation do not exist, a comprehensive programming document including a strategy and multi-annual indicative programme shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014. The document shall:

(a) define a Union response strategy on the basis of an analysis of the situation of the country concerned, of its relations with the Union, and of the partner countries' strategies or plans where those strategies or plans are consistent with the overall policy framework;

(b) set out the objectives and priorities for Union support;

(c) indicate expected results; and

(d) set out the indicative level of funding, broken down by priority.

Accompanying indicative financial allocations shall be given in the form of a range of not more than 20 % of those allocations. The programming document shall have an appropriate multi-annual duration.

4. For multi-country programmes, a comprehensive programming document including a strategy and a multi-annual indicative programme shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014. It shall:

(a) set out the objectives and priorities for Union support towards the region or the sub-region, reflecting where applicable the priorities decided upon within the framework of the Eastern Partnership or the Union for the Mediterranean;

(b) indicate expected results; and

(c) set out the indicative level of funding, broken down by priority.

Indicative financial allocations for multi-country programmes shall be determined on the basis of transparent and objective criteria.

The programming document shall have an appropriate multi-annual duration.

5. The single support framework documents shall be reviewed when necessary, including in the light of the relevant Union periodic reports and taking account of the work of the joint bodies established under the agreements with partner countries, and may be revised in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014. The programming documents referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article shall be reviewed at their mid-term or whenever necessary, and may be revised in accordance with the same procedure.

6. To facilitate the implementation of the incentive-based approach referred to in Article 4(2), an amount in the range of 10 % of the financial envelope set out in Article 17(1) shall be allocated to multi-country umbrella programmes that will supplement the country financial allocations referred to in Article 7(2) and (3). The relevant Commission decisions establishing those umbrella programmes shall specify the countries that may receive allocations, with the actual allocations to be decided on the basis of progress towards deep and sustainable democracy and implementation of agreed reform objectives contributing to the attainment of that goal.

7. When it is necessary to implement more effectively measures for the common benefit of the Union and partner countries, in areas such as transnational cooperation and interconnections, funding under this Regulation can be pooled together with funding under other relevant Union regulations. In that event, the Commission shall decide which single set of rules is to apply to implementation.

8. Member States shall be involved in the programming process, in accordance with Article 16(3) of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014. Those Member States and other donors that have committed to jointly programme their support with the Union shall be particularly closely involved. The programming documents may also cover their contribution as appropriate.

9. Where Member States and other donors have committed to jointly programme their support, a joint multi-annual programming document may replace the single support framework and the programming documents referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, on condition that it meets the requirements set out in those paragraphs.

10. In the event of crises or threats to democracy, the rule of law or human rights and fundamental freedoms, or of natural or man-made disasters, an ad hoc review of the programming documents may be conducted. Such emergency review shall ensure that coherence between Union policies, Union support provided under this Regulation and support provided under other Union instruments for financing external action is maintained. An emergency review may lead to the adoption of revised programming documents. In that event, the Commission shall send the revised programming documents to the European Parliament and to the Council for information within one month of their adoption.

11. Any programming or reviews of programmes taking place after the publication of the mid-term review report referred to in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 shall take into account the results, findings and conclusions of that report.